ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, December 17, 1996 TAG: 9612170023
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: LETTERS
IN RESPONSE to Jackie Collins' Dec. 7 letter to the editor, ``Should doctors consider unions?'':
They already have one. As matter of fact, it's one of the biggest and most powerful in the United States - the American Medical Association. Many professionals - such as lawyers (the Bar Association); contractors (American General Contractors Association), dentists (the American Dentistry Association), just to name a few - belong to unions.
Webster's Dictionary defines unions as the act of joining together for common purpose.
Why is it that the above-mentioned unions are accepted - thought respectable - yet when blue collar workers attempt or succeed at the same union, they are thought of as corrupt, power hungry, socialistic troublemakers?
Workers need to join together in order to be heard. There is strength in numbers - a stronger voice by uniting for common purpose.
LARRY F. McGLAMARY
ROANOKE
Council likes a good fight
THANKS should go to staff writer Dan Casey for his Dec. 1 news article, ``Freebies bring City Hall out to the `Brawl'.''
Had he not been at ringside to spot the city officialdom in all their glory, we would have been left with the impression that the only ``stumblebums'' were those doing the fighting!
ROBERT FIREBAUGH
ROANOKE
Keep parkway free of houses, towers
THANKS for your informative editorial on Nov. 26, "Surely the parkway is All-American.'' Only the North Carolina parkway portion received this esteemed honor.
Why not Virginia's portion? I can't conceive of any power, principality and people in their right minds rejecting this deserved national recognition. Our own Virginia Department of Transportation rejected this for the time being, fearing federal intrusion. What an unbelievable excuse (joke).
VDOT isn't the culprit. Safety, maintenance, building our Virginia roadways, acquiring land as needed for future growth - these are its jobs. Its duties aren't to protect the property rights of developers and landowners adjacent to the Blue Ridge Parkway.
The United States government - the guardian of a public trust to preserve the parkway for all the people - isn't the problem. The U.S. Park Service has served us well in maintaining the natural beauty of our parkway.
The real problem along the Roanoke Valley portion of the parkway is money-driven land developers. These vulture venturists see our beautiful ridge crests and mountain slopes near the parkway as gold in their pockets with developmental approval.
Consider two projects: Wolf Creek (East County) plans 101 units in five clusters; Wiltshire (Southwest County), 1,000-plus units and 51/2-plus acres of commercial strip. This is the largest residential project ever in Roanoke County. Wiltshire is adjacent to the parkway to the north and south.
In March, the petitioner - with assistance from our ex-congressman - got his mega-deal approved by a 4 to 1 vote to rezone his total project, including larger south tracts from agricultural use to planned residential use, including commercial approval.
The vote was taken without the environmental-impact study approval by the U.S. Parkway Service in hand. The presumption was that the environmental-impact approval was just a matter of time. This is how one Virginia jurisdiction deals with special local interests with parkway problems. The private-sector venturers want convenient access to the parkway.
The Virginia parkway is ours and the U.S. Parkway Service is its caretaker. Let's keep houses and towers off our majestic mountain ridges. The developers goal of gold - a marvelous view for a selected few - won't do here.
J. KEITH BOHON
ROANOKE
Quit destroying all the beautiful places
PLEASE stop tearing down beautiful places that are there already.
RACHEL CHILDERS
ROANOKE
Roanoke River has problems, too
MANY LETTERS to the editor have been published in your newspaper recently regarding problems on the Jackson River. This is all well and good, as these problems are major and need attention. However, another river closer to home for the base of your newspaper's readers has its share of problems as well, which I would like to draw attention to.
The Roanoke River affects many residents of Roanoke and Salem, running near their homes and places of business. Many people living near the river go there to fish or just spend some time in contemplation. However, it's hard to think of much of anything when tires and cans float past you.
This river has a pollution problem - one that needs to be dealt with soon. The waters run a brownish color, even when there has been no rain for a while. Trash lines the banks and floats down the river. There are very few fish in the river, and when an isolated fish is seen, it usually looks unhealthy. The river, once a beautiful spot to sit alone, has become a small trash dump.
The problems on the Jackson and other local rivers are important and need attention. However, the Roanoke River needs attention as well and shouldn't be neglected by your newspaper.
CHIP KNIGHTON
ROANOKE
Let Mill Mountain stay as it is
I APPLAUD Betty Field's comments concerning Mill Mountain (Nov. 18 news article, ``Woman fights for Mill Mountain to stay the way it is: a mountain'').
It's a unique asset for this valley, which we should preserve with care. Why do we need to develop it? If we continue to add paving and buildings to our open spaces, one day we will wake up and find that our open spaces are no longer there.
VIRGINIA G. HOPKINS
ROANOKE
AEP's transmission line is needed
DELBERT Jones' Nov. 19 letter to the editor (``Use Virginia coal to generate power'') talks of a mythical power-line project that doesn't exist, while Ron Poff of American Electric Power talks of the real project (Oct 30 letter, ``Western Va. needs AEP line'').
Jones describes a power line that will start in Ohio (not the AEP project), built to provide electricity to Northern Virginia (not the AEP project), and will use electricity generated by burning high-sulfur coal from the Midwest (not the AEP project).
The AEP power-line project starts in Oceana, W.Va., and is needed to provide electricity to AEP West Virginia and Virginia native customers. It will use electricity generated primarily by burning West Virginia low-sulfur coal.
Jones goes on to ask, ``Why can't we produce the electricity we need?'' It's the old generation vs. transmission question, apparently new to him. To repeat the answer, we don't need generation, we need transmission re-enforcement. AEP has plenty of generation available.
But if Jones truly wants to see generation from Southwest Virginia, what's the first thing he will need? A transmission line. That is why 25 percent of the AEP line is reserved for independent power producers. It's to allow future generation from Southwest Virginia. This dedicated 25 percent is guaranteed by Virginia law! He should support this project if he really wants to see generation from Southwest Virginia.
Jones is critical of larger power lines and seems to promote lots of smaller generating plants. Smaller plants are less energy-efficient, less economical to operate and more environmentally damaging than a few large ones. Also, air pollution can be better controlled at fewer, larger plants.
Regardless of how many or what size plants, a 765-kv line is much more energy-efficient than smaller lines. He should support the 765-kv if he cares about the environment at all.
BILL TANGER
Coordinator for the Coalition for
Energy and Economic Revitalization
ROANOKE
LENGTH: Long : 150 linesby CNB